Tuesday's ETF Winners & Losers
Exchange-traded funds tracking European bourses were among the best performers of Tuesday's session, as shares of U.K. lender
Northern Rock
rebounded.
Northern Rock had pressured European indices during the prior two sessions after the lender sought emergency funding from the Bank of England, a sign that the subprime mortgage mess was spilling into overseas markets. However, shares were rallying 10%, and London's FTSE 100, the CAC 40 in Paris and Germany's Xetra Dax were all up 1% or more.
The
iShares MSCI Spain Index
(EWP) - Get Report
was adding $1.39, or 2.5%, to $57.06. The
iShares MSCI France Index
(EWQ) - Get Report
was up 64 cents, or 1.8%, to $36.33. The
iShares MSCI United Kingdom Index
(PEH)
rose 28 cents, or 1.2%, to $23.48. The
iShares S&P Europe 350 Index
(IEV) - Get Report
was higher by $1.82, or 1.6%, to $113.12.
Bundled securities tracking the financial sector were also higher, thanks to strong earnings from
Lehman Brothers
(LEH)
, as well as expectations of an interest rate cut by the
Federal Reserve
. Lehman beat Wall Street's forecasts by 7 cents a share, and the stock was up 3.5%.
The Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank's policymaking arm, is widely expected to cut the overnight Fed funds rate when it announces its decision at 2:15 p.m. EDT, a move that will help liquidity problems in tightening credit markets.
The
Ultra Financials ProShares
(UYG) - Get Report
was rising $1.23, or 2.3%, to $55.78. The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services
(IYG) - Get Report
was adding $1.60, or 1.3%, to $121.76. The
First Trust Financials AlphaDEX
(FXO) - Get Report
ETF was recently up 28 cents, or 1.6%, to $17.64.
An earnings beat by electronics retailer
Best Buy
(BBY) - Get Report
was supporting a rise in retail-related ETFs. Before the opening bell, Best Buy handily beat second-quarter earnings targets and also raised its full-year profit forecast, boosting shares by 4.4%.
The
SPDR S&P Retail
(XRT) - Get Report
was recently climbing 78 cents, or 2%, to $39.20. The
PowerShares Dynamic Retail
(PMR) - Get Report
was up 31 cents, or 1.7%, to $18.08. The
Retail HOLDRs
(RTH) - Get Report
advanced $1.42, or 1.4%, to $101.48.
On the other hand, the
United States Natural Gas
(UNG) - Get Report
ETF was the worst decliner of the session, as natural gas futures fell 19 cents to $6.46 per million British thermal units. The ETF was lower by $1.05, or 2.6%, to $39.41.